The present invention was first described in Disclosure Document filed on Jan. 8, 1999. There are no previously filed, nor currently any co-pending applications, anywhere in the world.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety devices and, more particularly, to an improved gripping means for poles, especially when icy, for use with existing pole climbing lanyards commonly used by telephone linemen, timbermen and others when ascending and descending poles and trees.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, it is well known that safety lanyards and belts for use in ascending utility poles and trees exist. Typically, a safety belt extending round the outer face of the pole and extending round the waist of the climber and/or attached to the climber""s belt give the climber support while ascending and descending the pole. The belt must be capable of supporting nearly the full weight of the climber and be able to grip the pole should the climber lose footing on the pole. Many designs improve the performance of the belt by putting additional gripping means such as teeth or blocks on the inner surface of the belt that contacts the pole. The present invention is an improved gripping means of this type designed to be used with conventional existing safety lanyards and belts.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
Of considerable relevance are U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,714 issued to Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,196 issued to Allen, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,696 issued to Meed, et al. These patents disclose a safety device for pole climber""s consisting of a strap having inwardly extending teeth on the inner surface of the strap to grip the pole. Somewhat relevant are U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,991 issued to Bell and U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,074 issued to Bell. These patents disclose a safety lanyard with gripping units having teeth installed on the belt for improved grip on the pole.
However, each of the aforementioned patents have a relatively small number of teeth or appendages providing the gripping means like the present invention. Nor can any of the cited references be used to retrofit existing safety lanyards or belts. The present invention provides an improved gripping means over the cited references in that it has a plurality of gripping cleats spaced such that a greater area of the belt is provided with cleats. In addition, it can be readily purchased and can be used with existing conventional safety lanyards and belts.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved gripping means for safety lanyards and belts of the type typically used by pole climbers such as linesmen and timber men.
It is a feature of the present invention to be readily purchased and used with conventional existing safety lanyards and belts.
It is another feature of the invention to be easy to use and install.
Briefly described according to one embodiment of the present invention, a pole hitching device is provided comprised of a strap made from several layers of high strength webbing material stitched and glued together. A plurality of gripping cleats protruding through a hole seared through one of the outer layers of the webbing material provide an improved gripping means when the device is placed between the inner surface of a conventional safety lanyard or belt and the pole. The ends of the belt are seared to prevent the belt from fraying. The assembled belt is held in place on the inner surface of a safety lanyard or belt by a plurality of VELCRO hook and loop fastener straps with one being placed on each of the belts ends and at least one other placed therebetween.